Walking On

Friday, January 14, 2011

Pyrenees Pilgrimage solo walk across France

Pyrenees Pilgrimage

http://www.amazon.com/Pyrenees-Pilgrimage-Walking-Across-France/dp/1439267898/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295052606&sr=1-2

Walking through Basque homelands, Pyrenees National Parks, and chatting with pheasant hunters, the author makes her way on foot from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

Classic Fuel Stop::Buy Booze, Bottle Recycling and Gas the Ride

But now these enterprises are boarded up. The fuel pumps idle and the snack shop shut. What would be a good use for these basic structures, constructed during the 1970s before shoddy wallboard and sloppy standards became the norm? Hostels for poor travelers? Bunk houses for homeless wanderers?

Suzhou :: China

Suzhou China -- Pedicab Drivers Waiting for Tourists

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Suzhou is an urban area with a population of 6 million, formerly known as ‘water country’ or the ‘land of rice and fish.’ That must have been in the past, because instead placid rice fields and ox-plows, we saw miles of factories under looming grey skies. Suzhou’s traditional silk production has been replaced by IT firms, industrial parks and a massive new exhibition center, 2^nd largest in China. Suzhou is a bedroom community for Shanghai and an industrial powerhouse in its own right.

Canal Life, Suzhou

Despite the urbanization, the 2,500 year old "Venice of China" retains its charms, and we were headed for one of the most famous sites in Suzhou - the Master of the Nets Garden.

Every mosaic in the garden pavement conveys meaning: cypress trees and cranes mean long life; bats mean happiness; garlands of bats around cranes mean a long, happy life.

Bat Mosaic in Pavement, Master of the Nets Garden

The Master of the Nets garden took 80 years to construct, several hundred year ago. This was the dream project of a former government official who left his job because of his “rebel ideas” and because he only wanted to work in the garden, said our guide. Probably true. While visitors with Viking Cruise nametags stuck on their polo shirts streamed through the garden led by loud guides, our guide suggested we wait and savor the views, then he explained the layout in the wake of the cruisers.

Master of the Nets Garden, Suzhou

Rock farmers set the rocks in flowing water to encourage marks and mineral deposits to form. Two generations later the rocks were pulled out and placed in gardens.

There’s more to the UNESCO protected garden than rocks and pebble mosaics. We rested in a pavilion for moon watching, gazed at ponds filled with prosperity-inducing gold fish, and walked out the gates to find ourselves in an outdoor corridor of vendors who netted in strolling tourists to buy fans, folding hats, postcards, figurines, tee-shirts, replica furniture, jewelry and more.

Downtown Suzhou on Saturday Afternoon

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Literary Footsteps in Buenos Aires

Too much going on in Buenos Aires to absorb in a week or a month. So best to mosey around and enjoy street scenes, protest art, people watching and the architecture.

Mosaic floor at La Prensa

On a bright April day I strolled along Avda. de Mayo -- a downtown boulevard -- to the old La Prensa building. The right-wing newspaper's former headquarters is now a cultural center. The mosaic floor, paneled walls, and ornate facade are intact.

La Calesita antiquarian bookstore at number Av. de Mayo 769, opened another world of old well preserved books, literary journals from the 1950s, antique toys, and oddities from three continents. Here I whiled away several hours discussing the imagery in Argentina's national shield, the country's flag, and the shields of the states.

Jose Luis Costanzo, the bookstore's proprietor, owned another bookstore in times past at the same location and told me he sold books to Borges, knew him for over 40 years. Borges was blind and the books were read to him by his mother or associates.

Naturally, I had to see where Borges had lived and found my way to the address Sr. Costanzo gave me. There's an historic marker on the building, so it is no secret. I photographed nearby buildings, windows and doorways.

Near San Martin metro ("sube") stop, the Centro Cultural Borges annexed to an urban shopping center Galerias Pacifico, offers performance space, bookstore, cafe, film club and workshops. I turned up for a screening of 90 Grados Sud, a restored print of the 1910 expedition to the South Pole by Scott. Herbert George Ponting released the print in 1913, redone in 1933 with sound. Pretty amazing footage.